Under Her Spell

by Maggie Morton

  Synopsis

  Terra may not be the best at magic, but she is the best at loving Athene Werth, her lover and best friend. They don’t ever want to part, but a threat to their romance is right on the horizon—a magical quest for Athene’s hand in marriage. So Terra goes undercover, disguised as a man, and she joins the quest. What other choice does she have?

  Once the quest begins, there are many surprises along the way, including an enchanted stone that allows Terra to visit Athene, because neither woman wants to be away from the other’s lips for very long. Back on the quest, a man with flaming horns is hot on Terra’s trail, and he will stop at nothing to end her quest…and end her life. But Terra will also stop at nothing to win the quest, because Athene’s loving embrace lies at its end.

  Under Her Spell

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  Under Her Spell

  © 2013 By Maggie Morton. All Rights Reserved.

  ISBN 13: 978-1-62639-013-3

  This Electronic Book is published by

  Bold Strokes Books, Inc.

  P.O. Box 249

  Valley Falls, New York 12185

  First Edition: December 2013

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.

  Credits

  Editor: Shelley Thrasher

  Production Design: Susan Ramundo

  Cover Design By Sheri (GraphicArtist2020@hotmail.com)

  By the Author

  Dreaming of Her

  Under Her Spell

  Acknowledgments

  I would like to thank the amazing Radclyffe first, for running such a terrific company and for accepting my novel. I would also like to thank my very skilled editor, Shelley Thrasher, who has helped me to become a better writer. My thanks also go out to everyone at Bold Strokes Books, including Connie, Sandy, Cindy, and Toni. Thanks also to Sheri for yet another terrific cover. I would also like to thank Desiree for suggesting I write erotica all those years ago. Finally, I would like to thank Beanie for her help with editing and help being a better person, Bunky for his support and love, and Bucko for his support, love, affection, compassion, and acceptance—I love all three of you very, very much!

  Dedication

  To Beanie, who needs no magic to be magical

  Chapter One

  Terra glanced out her window again, seeing the moon was still full but a bit higher in the sky. Where was she? Athene was almost never late for their rendezvous, as punctuality was one of her many, many loveable traits. What could be keeping her?

  But then Terra heard a soft knock on her door, and it slowly opened, and Athene entered the room on quiet, slippered feet.

  “Are the bunny slippers new?” Terra asked.

  “They were a regrettable gift from my aunt. She’s visiting right now, so I’ve been wearing them around in the morning and at night. That’s not the worst part, though.”

  “No? You mean something like hot-pink and lime-green striped bunny slippers with psychotic-looking googly eyes can get worse?”

  “Yes,” Athene said, easing herself down onto Terra’s quilt-covered bed. “They used to squeak.”

  Terra laughed at that, then cleared her throat. “You poor thing. But…what do you mean ‘used to’?”

  “I kind of let Onyx chew on them last night—his idea, not mine. That cat is part devil, I sometimes think, but he’s still helpful in my spells.”

  “I need more than a super-attentive familiar to help with mine,” Terra said, not without a hint of disappointment in her tone.

  Athene sighed, reaching out for Terra’s hands and pulling her onto the bed to her right. “If only your mother…”

  Then Terra let her face fall, her lips turning down into a sad pout. She had intended to use those lips for kissing tonight, and not much more. After all, it was their second-to-last night together before the goddamned quest, and they’d already said everything there was to say. About how they’d miss each other. About how worried they were about Terra’s chances, since she had so little power, power that could have been practically immeasurable if it hadn’t been for her mother…but no, Terra decided. Tonight was not for worries or sad thoughts about the past.

  “I’d rather kiss you now than start crying,” Terra said, her voice soft.

  “Me too, my love.” Athene cupped the back of Terra’s head, her fingers flowing through Terra’s short-cropped curls, their striking blue-black the first thing Athene had noticed about her—as she’d told Terra the first time they were alone and able to talk. That talk had led to late-night meetings in Terra’s quarters, late-night meetings that led to amazing sex, and, after a while, amazing love.

  Their first time together had not been the first time either of them had gone to bed with a woman, but it had been the first time Athene had come while in someone else’s arms. She was amazed, she had told Terra, amazed at how well Terra’s hands had worked her body…her flesh. And Terra, in turn, had been amazed at how aroused Athene had become, with only a few kisses against each breast, her hand buried between Athene’s thighs—a hand that had gotten soaked in seconds, Athene’s wetness dripping down those thighs as they kissed and touched and moaned, Terra whispering dirty things into Athene’s ear as she worked her clit.

  Maybe it was her words (Athene later told her no one had ever talked dirty to her before). Maybe it was the excitement and Terra’s immense desire for her (she’d only had sex twice before, with two different—and, as she told Terra, seemingly disinterested—partners). And maybe they just had some sort of magical chemistry on that night, because Athene got Terra to come, too, her mouth tight on Terra’s cunt, as Terra continued to talk dirty to her, growling word after word about how naughty she was, and how dirty she was, bedding down with one of the staff, one of the people who was normally far below her, and now she was the one servicing Terra, instead of the other way around.

  After they’d both come an equal number of times, Athene turned to face Terra, a very serious look on her face. In an equally serious tone of voice, she’d told Terra that she didn’t look at the staff the way Terra thought she did, and that while it had been hot while she’d been eating her out, “You shouldn’t assume that I look down on you normally. You’re far too beautiful for that, for one thing.” Terra had turned her head down, a flush rising to her throat and cheeks, and Athene had told her she looked exceptionally cute when she blushed.

  Terra was desperate to see her again after that, and the desperation was returned in kind, because that night turned into a long trail of nights, turning into over a year of amazing—but private—romance. And it came with many, many more nights just as hot as that first encounter.

  But tonight would just be sex, because the love part was too painful. After all, Terra thought, as she began to unlace the front of Athene’s silk nightgown, tonight would be their last night together for…well, best not to think about that. What an arousal killer, worrying about missing each other. No, instead, she chose to take in Athene’s chest as her nightgown slipped off her breasts—breasts she couldn’t find a single flaw in. Just like Athene’s face, its shape narrow and delicate, with equally delicate features and the most kissable lips imaginable. Lips that she was kissin
g right now, kissing with a hunger she hadn’t expected to have. She felt ravenous, starved for contact, her desire mounting so intensely it almost drew the breath out of her. And then, when Athene took her hand and placed it on her right breast, the breath was drawn out of her, a quick, loud, exhale of warm air, warm air that made Athene shiver as it hit her skin.

  Or perhaps the shiver came from the feel of Terra’s fingers on her nipple, gently twisting it back and forth, the nipple hard with arousal, arousal that Terra knew had spread down to her lower parts as well. She knew this from the way Athene began to squirm a little as she tweaked her nipple, which she did a little rougher than usual, but her roughness didn’t get any complaints out of Athene. No, instead she got a gasp, and a soft, “Please…”

  “‘Please’ what, my girl?” Terra was grinning now, loving the power she had, able to turn Athene on so easily. It had always been like that, unlike any of the women she’d been with before their first night together. And now, a year and a half in, nothing had changed. At least, nothing when it came to the sex they had. Their sexual experiences hadn’t dimmed a bit. The orgasms, and everything else, had only gotten better.

  “Please…please, I want you to be rough with me tonight.”

  “Sounds good to me.” Only a little time passed before she grabbed both of Athene’s wrists and slammed her to the bed. “So, you want to be my slut tonight? My whore? Is that what you want?”

  “I’ve been reading some books, books with stuff like this in it, and they really, really turned me on.” Athene looked down shyly when she said this, but with a fair bit of excitement on her face as well.

  “You sly little coquette! You slutty little bibliophile!” Terra chuckled, a low laugh that seemed to hold an unusual touch of darkness in it. “Just say ‘warlock’ if I get too rough. The thought of a man should turn both of us off right away. Just say that and I’ll stop.” Then she sunk her teeth into Athene’s shoulder. She didn’t use an especially small amount of pressure. It was a test, to see exactly how much Athene could take and whether those books really did it for her as much as Terra hoped.

  But Athene took it like a champ. She did shriek a little as Terra bit her, but it was a quiet shriek, and she said, “Thank you, mistress,” as Terra loosened her mouth and then stopped. She didn’t thank her when Terra bit her again, this time on the top of her left breast, this time a little harder. But Athene gave her the gift of a moan, because as Terra closed her teeth around her flesh, she also took her hands off Athene’s wrists and started to grind her palm against her crotch. Terra’s hand got incredibly wet as it worked away against Athene’s panties, panties that were soaked through in an impressively short amount of time.

  “You seem to like this, my lovely bottom.”

  “Yes, I must. I…I think I, um, more than just like it.”

  “That’s good, because I really, really, really like it, too.” As she growled each of those last six words, she ground her hand against Athene’s panties, and when she finished her sentence, she slipped her hand inside them, finding that this was one fucking wet cunt.

  “Goddamn, Athene, are you ever wet! You’ve never been this wet before. Seems like we’ve learned something new about you tonight.” She slid her fingers down Athene’s slit, finding a larger-than-usual clit in its certainly usual spot, and she began to rub it with her middle finger. With her other hand, she braided her fingers through Athene’s long, full, golden hair, softer than silk and definitely far more beautiful. But she wasn’t going to admire Athene’s hair tonight, or compliment her in any way, unless it was to tell her how well-behaved she was, and how good she was at getting wet, and how pleasing it was to have such a submissive slut bottoming to her.

  No, tonight Athene’s hair was only a tool, one with which to control her. Terra did just that, grasping most of it in a tight fist and then yanking it back, hard, as she added another finger to Athene’s clit.

  Athene had already been moaning a little, but now she was getting louder and louder. Terra noticed that she looked nervous, too. “I’m worried that I’ll get too…fuck! Too loud! Oh, God, I’m going to get so loud, so loud. Oh, I’m close, Terra, I’m close.”

  “Are you going to come for me, my little bitch? Am I going to steal an orgasm or two from that sopping-wet cunt of yours?” She couldn’t help but be slightly surprised at the words that were coming out of her mouth, and how easily they were coming to her. They’d never done anything like this before. It had always been gentle until then—lovely, and very, very hot, but there had been no hair pulling, no biting, and only a small amount of name-calling.

  But at the last second, Athene threw up her arms, and a bubble of light suddenly surrounded the bed. Terra realized then that Athene had almost never come that hard. Nor was she often this loud, her cries echoing off the glowing circle of light around them. And as Athene came, Terra’s heart began to beat hard, because she almost couldn’t stand how beautiful Athene looked in that moment of ecstasy.

  Fuck, she thought. Fuck, I’m going to miss her too much. How was she supposed to get through the next however-many-days this stupid, goddamn, sucky quest would take? It was all for the best prize in the world, though, the best prize imaginable—Athene’s hand in marriage.

  It was Terra’s turn next, and Athene’s gentle touch—with just the right amount of pressure in just the right places, and especially at just the right times—drew all thoughts of the next day out of Terra’s head, and she worried less and less each time she came.

  But soon—far too soon, in her opinion—it was time for her lover to leave. Not just her lover, no, because very few people will risk their lives for someone they just enjoy falling into bed with. No, there was much more to their relationship than that. Far more, because as Athene kissed her good-bye, she took Terra’s hand in hers, and when she released it, a glowing, ghostly band was wrapped around Terra’s left ring finger.

  “How sweet!” She smiled widely and thanked Athene as she quietly opened the bedroom’s door and shut it slowly behind her. Sadly, it was time for them to both try to get some rest before the next day.

  But after Athene left, and once she was back in bed, ready to sleep, Terra waved her hand over the ring, making it turn into mist and then disappear. It was too sad, however sweet Athene’s gesture had been, to see a ring on that finger, a ring that might never appear for real. She still had just a little hope that she would be successful, that her disguise would work the next night and that not only would she be allowed to compete, but that she would win. One of her last thoughts before she drifted under was one of hope.

  Magic, even the most powerful in the world, should never even try to match the magic of true love. But was she right?

  Chapter Two

  Terra woke in the morning just as the sun had started lighting up her small bedroom. It was a little past six when she threw back the covers and put her feet onto the cold hardwood floor, shivering a little as it first touched her soles. It had been so much nicer under the covers, where she’d been daydreaming a bit about Athene. She had tried to push all thoughts of that night’s banquet out of her head, but they’d come flooding in only a tiny bit after she first opened her eyes.

  She went into her small bathroom and washed her face in the miniscule sink. The room didn’t even have a bathtub, just a small shower with a glass door she kept spotless, a toilet, of course, and the tiny sink, with a small, mirrored cabinet above it that held her inexpensive toiletries. It was nothing like the bathrooms of the mansion’s owners and, of course, their daughter, who just so happened to be Athene. Of all the women to fall for…but it was far too late to change her mind, now. She was more in love than she could quantify.

  Terra shook her head at the thought that she could “change her mind” about such a thing. Silly, really, as her father had taught her when she was young that lovers weren’t chosen so much as they chose you. Yes, Athene had “chosen” her with a single glance of her kind, beautiful eyes; just that one glance, and Terra
was hers.

  They’d barely crossed paths before Athene turned twenty; she’d practically been kept locked in her room, her parents were so over-protective. And Terra had spent her time in the stables with her father, Zachary, teaching her what he knew about math and science and the various arts as they fed and dressed the horses. He was one of the castle’s gardeners as well, as the horses only had so many needs, and their riders’ needs were limited as well. Zeus, Athene’s father, almost never rode anymore because of his bad hip, and Cer, her mother, had never spent much time around animals of any sort since her birth. It was rumored that when Cer was born, every animal on the land died, and that she’d brought them all back to life with her touch. Of course, it was just a story, but the help did their best to keep her happy in every way possible. As happy as anyone could keep a woman as easily angered as Cer was, at least.

  Terra didn’t have to get started on her duties until seven thirty, so after putting on her usual work outfit, which consisted of a perfectly ironed white blouse and pale-gray slacks, she went down to the kitchen. Once there, she ate a quick bowl of oatmeal and picked up the sliced apple waiting by the door to the outside—the castle’s cook always left one out for her in the morning—and she went down to the stables, her father’s first stop on his ever-busy days.

  “Hey, Dad.” She leaned up against the stall where her father was brushing the mansion’s prize stallion, a black Arabian named Djinn. Her father always brushed him until his coat shone, and he and Djinn would chat while he did. “Hey, D.J.”

  Djinn snorted. “Must you insist on calling me that, young lady?”

  “You know I must, D.J.”

  “Hi, honey. How’s your morning been so far?” Her father smiled at her, taking off his plaid newsboy cap and running his fingers through his shaggy, black hair. It had been said that she looked almost exactly like her mother, but Terra thought she had a fair amount of her father in her—her height, for one, as she was tall for a woman at five feet nine. And then there was their hair, although hers had hints of her mother’s garnet-red locks in the form of subtle highlights throughout its blackness. And her father’s nose, wide but still rather delicate, just like hers. To most, it would have seemed almost too feminine for a man, instead being almost perfect for a woman. Especially one on the slightly butch side of things, like her. But Terra’s lips and eyes were both almost identical to her mom’s—her eyes a blue that was almost silver, and her lips with slightly up-turned corners so that, unless she was frowning, she always seemed to have a slight smile on her face. Her father had told her that he appreciated seeing a bit of her mother in her face, but after the age of thirteen, the only way she had to compare herself to her mother’s looks was in photos, because her mother wasn’t with them anymore.